Go East, Young Woman, Racing Establishment Said : Racing: But apprentice jockey Christine Davenport insists on making her mark at Del Mar, among the big boys.

Trainers, agents and even fellow jockeys tell her to go elsewhere. They explain that some of the best jockeys have problems getting mounts at Del Mar, let alone winning races.

Steve Cauthen once went through a zero-for-120 streak on the Southern California circuit. Ron Hansen came to Del Mar this year as a highly touted jockey from the Northern California racing circuit, but he left after winning just three of 73 races. Apprentice Vann Belvoir, 16, made a name for himself in Seattle and thus landed a prominent agent in Scotty McClellan, but he left Del Mar shaking his head after winning just two of his 89 races.

So why does Christine Davenport, who has won just three times in almost two full meetings at Del Mar, insist on getting rid of her bug--race track shorthand for her apprentice label--against perhaps the best collection of jockeys in the world?

Why does she put up with dressing with the other women in a barber shop, where there’s no TV monitor or toilet?

“Why go where it doesn’t count?” she asks. “So you’re winning races and riding horses that are about ready to break your neck. Big deal.”

But there’s more to it than competing with the big boys or looking out for her own safety. To Davenport, the issue is much bigger.

It’s about blazing a trail for her gender on a circuit that has always been dominated by males. Sure, female jockeys have shown they can ride. Julie Krone, 27, has won nearly 2,000 races on the “Jersey Circuit,” and other women have been successful on the East Coast and in Europe. But never at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita or Del Mar.

“Somebody has to stay here for a while and make these people open their eyes,” said Davenport, 25, with a touch of self-determination in her voice. “If don’t do it, I don’t see anybody else coming up behind me.

“I still think it’s kind of silly we’re even talking about this in the 1990s. And I can see why people would not me to ride their horses, because women have never been successful here. I guess you’re not going to change people’s mind overnight.”

But most say people’s minds will never be changed.

Trainer Brian Mayberry said Davenport’s cause is noble but probably futile.

“Julie Krone is an outstanding talent, but she would have a tough time out here,” said Mayberry. “It’s just an awfully tough place to get started for anyone, but for a woman, it’s even tougher. Historically, it’s just been difficult for women here.”

McClellan said it will continue to be difficult.

“People are going to ride a guy before a girl,” he said. “Not that I would, but other people would. Right now, it’s as tough as I’ve ever seen it out here. And that’s for anybody. There’s only about 27 horses (three a race) with a legitimate chance of winning, and there’s 10 to 12 jockeys that are vying for those horses. I’d love to see her do well, but she’s fighting a tough battle.”

Eddie Delahoussaye said he’d like to see things change for women jockeys, but he doesn’t know if they ever will.

“I guess they don’t feel (a woman) is as strong as a man,” he said. “Back East, they give a woman a better chance of running. Over the years here, I’ve seen some good lady riders, but they’ve never stuck with it.”

Delahoussaye, who was the leading rider at Del Mar in 1989, said he gives Davenport the best shot of anybody he’s seen.

“She knows where she’s at on a horse,” he said. “I don’t think she’s very strong on a horse, but I think people make too big a deal of that sometimes.”

Delahoussaye’s advice to Davenport?

“Personally, if I was her and I wasn’t riding or winning much, I’d ride somewhere else. I’d go where I’d get some more experience.”

But Davenport, who’s been riding for six years, feels she already has enough experience. After beginning her career as an exercise rider at Thistledown, outside of Cleveland, Davenport worked at tracks in Minnesota and Florida before coming out to Caliente in 1988. Then in December, 1988, Davenport won nine races and qualified to begin her apprenticeship.

For a while, Davenport would ride at Caliente on the weekends, where she received $150 per victory, then drive up to Fairplex in Pomona or Los Alamitos during the week. Finally, in 1989 she broke through at Hollywood Park’s fall meeting and won six races in six weeks. But at Del Mar, last summer, she won just twice in 16 mounts.

Overall in 1989, Davenport won on 21 of her 283 mounts, with 14 seconds and 27 thirds--not bad for a debut season. But this year, except for winning her first stakes on On The Menu at Golden Gate Park in Berkeley, has been disappointing. She was suspended for five days for a racing infraction at Santa Anita and won just twice there. At Hollywood Park, she won only once in 19 mounts.

Although she won Friday on Mats Dolly, a 5-1 third favorite, Davenport’s Del Mar meeting has not been a banner one either--she is two for 15 with no seconds or thirds. Female jockeys Joy Scott, Vicky Frontiere and Kim Davis have not fared much better--they are 0 for 11 with one second, by Scott.

Davenport’s winning mount two weeks ago perfectly illustrates the plight of the female jockey at Del Mar.

Hansen was originally supposed to ride Masai Chief, an 87-1 shot, but he left to ride at Bay Meadows. Jockey after jockey turned down the ride on Masai Chief until Davenport spoke up and took the mount.

The payoff on Masai Chief of $177.40 was the biggest at Del Mar in 16 years--for her part, she earned a little over $1,000.

“I felt like I won the Derby,” she said. “It was the first live horse I’ve had this meeting. I feel like whenever I’m on a horse that’s running, I usually know what to do.”

But those opportunities have been rare for Davenport. Usually, she’s on a longshot.

But then, it’s hard to get decent mounts when you don’t have an agent.

“Agents and I have never really gotten along,” said Davenport, who has nonetheless agreed to take on a part-time agent for now.

Somehow though, Davenport plods on, believing that she will be the first female jockey to strike it rich in Southern California.

“It’s only going to get better,” she said. “I figure I’ve already gone through the hard part.”